The house with the most Christmas lights in my neighborhood had the decorations down by Dec. 30. It perfectly represented Christmas in popular culture. Christmas Day, Dec. 25, is the day Christianity shakes free of the cultural Christmas and begins the Christian season of Christmastide. The popular 12 Days of Christmas aren’t the days before Christmas, they are the days after. They are a daily reminder of the presence of God. They begin Christmas Day and end with Twelfth Night, the... Read more
In the African American community, Watch Night services on New Year’s Eve commemorate the evening of Dec. 31, 1862, as black people, both enslaved and free, looked to Jan. 1, 1863, and the implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation. The idea of a New Year’s Eve service actually is much older than Freedom’s Eve of Watch Night, and in fact finds its roots in the Moravian Church and a 1733 New Year’s Eve service held in Germany. Always one to adopt... Read more
Most of us live in Bedford Falls, where our lives are filled with hard working and good hearted people. We’re friendly and affable and we look out for others. Immigrants get opportunities to work hard, and become part of our communities. Poor people and those down on their luck get help to make their lives better. In Bedford Falls, United States, we’re all in this together. We sign songs and wish each other Merry Christmas. We celebrate the accomplishments of... Read more
Imagine you’re a shepherd, alone on a starlit night, watching over your sheep. All is calm and all is bright. The only sounds are the sheep quietly calling to one another. Suddenly an angel appears and says that something beautiful has been revealed in a small child, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. You make your way to Bethlehem to see this child, and when you look into his eyes, you see your own reflection. You see all... Read more
It’s a near certainty there were cats nearby when Jesus was born. Where there is food for livestock there are mice and where there are mice, there are cats. Cats were already domesticated in the time of Jesus. (As much as cats can ever be domesticated, anyway.) Cats witnessed the birth of Jesus, perhaps rubbing up against Joseph, as the baby was born. Here are a few images I’ve collected to give us an idea of what the birth of... Read more
Much like the shepherds during the first Christmas, people around the world had their attention turned toward the heavens 50 years ago, when the astronauts of Apollo 8 delivered their famous Christmas Eve broadcast from lunar orbit. It had been a difficult year — from the North Vietnamese Tet offensive in Vietnam, where the war entered it’s fifth year, to the murders of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, to riots in cities all across the United States, all... Read more
By Emily Dickinson Dec. 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886 Some keep the Sabbath going to Church – I keep it, staying at Home – With a Bobolink for a Chorister – And an Orchard, for a Dome – Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice – I, just wear my Wings – And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church, Our little Sexton – sings. God preaches, a noted Clergyman – And the sermon is never long, So instead of... Read more
You’ve seen A Charlie Brown Christmas, the Emmy award-winning TV program that has charmed audiences for more than 50 years. As Charlie Brown struggles with the commercialism of Christmas, Linus reminds him what Christmas is all about. https://youtu.be/iNMgmf0NTO4 The Christian messages are both obvious and subtle. Linus was actually a contemporary of Paul and active in the early church. The soundtrack includes the hymn, Hark the Herald Angels Sing: Hark the herald angels sing “Glory to the newborn King! Peace... Read more
Across denominations there are a variety of beliefs, but a common core issue is how Christians treat others: do they treat others in ways that are Christ-like or in ways that are not Christian? The answer is usually as clear as a morning sunrise to those who are discriminated against and as dim as dusk to those who discriminate. Many Christian denominations have wonderful faith traditions. But for many denominations, discrimination is the tradition. Discrimination is treating some people differently... Read more
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